Legends
by The Wizard's Daughter
Summary: It's said that legends are just facts that are exaggerated. But what if a legend is a true story too remarkable to believe? Michael thought that he hid his past, even with his siblings around him. But when a mysterious blue box appears in Vega, Michael's secrets will bring the city to its knees. ( Book I of the Forgiven series)
1. Chapter 1

Michael was Vega.

This was the place he lived, he guarded, he protected; only to discover that no matter how many times he looked down on that budding city from his tower, he did not belong.

" A fixture on a mantelpiece." He muttered as he concentrated on the comm. link he had placed in his left ear. Rubbing his right arm subconsciously, he expected to feel the sharp edges of the tattoos dig into his skin as they did for thousands of years, only to remember that the tattoos were not on him anymore. They were now Alex's.

Alex must not know what those tattoos actually mean and if he went to Gabriel… Michael shuddered. No one here must know about what secrets lie deep within those blue lines, for it would undo Vega from its foundations. Relaxing his tense muscles, he once more stood by waiting for an emergency that he would be requested to help with. Yet no matter how hard he tried, his ancient mind wandered.

* * *

He was that last of his kind to be born, besides his three siblings; Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. Their father was last breeding Angel and Michael was there when the enemy attacked. Unlike his three siblings, he couldn't leave for his wings had not grown in yet. So his brothers and sister left him to die with the rest of his kind. It was this fluke of Fate that made him who he was. Or that is what he always thought.

Michael always knew he had a notoriously hot temper that never really cooled; it just simmered under the surface of his cool demeanor. So when the enemy attacked with their fancy star ships and laser cannons, Michael retreated to the one place he felt safe. He retreated to his father's arms. But even his father could not hold back that black shadow that descends upon every soul and Michael watched as Death drew every breath from his father's lungs into its own.

As he lay there dying, Michael watched over him. A known face in a world of enemies, he thought to himself, might ease the pain of his passing. Blood seeped through the linen shirt his father was wearing onto his hands where he tried to hold the wound closed. Yet his father, older than him by nearly four thousand years, placed his hand upon Michael's and told him he was loved. Death came swiftly after and Michael cried. Cried when his father's life ended, cried when the enemy stormed the hall, and cried when the tattoos his father's body carried tore through his child like frame. They tore though his flesh to reach bone, entwined with his organs and squeezed his heart hard enough that he thought he too would die; And watching the enemy storm the castle he once called home, Michael did what any nine year old would do; he passed out.

* * *

" Michael." The call was sharp and commanding and Michael flinched, his teeth bared ready to defend himself, only to discover that no one was in the room with him. He stood there, braced for the shadows to start moving when he remembered that he still had the comm. link in his ear and the voice was not that of the enemy's, but of Alex. Swallowing, Michael forced his canines to retract back into his skull and unfurling his wings, jumped from his tower.

* * *

Alex didn't know what to make to make of it. It was just too weird to be understood. He could see the same weird look plastered on the other soldiers' faces that was probably on his at the sight they had just witnessed.

It was a blue box that magically appeared out of nowhere with a strong wind and hell of a lot of wheezing.

Alex shifted as he felt Michael's presence land beside him. " What happened?" The tone was curt and to the point and Alex pointed at the box with the tip of his gun. " You called me down here because of a 1960s police box...?"

" That appeared out of thin air?" Alex felt Michael stiffen. The Archangel moved towards the box like a curious panther, each move slow and deliberate. Alex could see his hands move slowly towards his swords and Alex took the chance to get a better grip on his gun. The door flew open and Michael's right sword clanged with a bone-jarring ring against metal. Standing in the doorway of the strange craft was a woman who Michael towered over by nearly a foot and in her hands was a sword. Placed expertly against Michael's, Alex could see the power struggle that ensued between the two. Suddenly Michael took a step back, his sword relinquishing its hold on hers; But Alex could tell that he wasn't going to relax until he got some answers.

_" Damn I've been spending to much time with him." _Alex thought to himself. But it was the girl who laughed.

" Its alright guys. You can come out now. But I can tell you one thing, we are not in Vegas. " The girl took a step forward and Alex saw Michael stiffen even further.

" What do you mean by we are not in Vegas?" A tall scrawny character poked his head out of the box and the looks that his friends wore were of utter shock and hilarity. Dressed like a mannequin in a thrift shop, the man nearly exploded out of the box. His curiosity seemed a palpable force in the air, but with a swift twist of the wrist, the girl stopped him using the flat of her blade.

" I told you, we are not in Vegas. Judging by the size of the mountain ranges around us and the brighter than normal neon." She suddenly licked her finger and stuck in the air for a few brief seconds.

" We are in the city of Vega, on the planet Gibraltar. In the Sevien constellation." She added smugly and Alex watched from the corner of his eye as Michael took a new interest in these people. Alex couldn't decide whether to trust them or not and he was looking to Michael for help, but even Michael, the impenetrable Archangel, seemed floored by their miraculous arrival.

" Come on Clara." The man called into the box and as soon as he did another woman, this one seeming even younger appeared and stopped.

" What is going on?" The man went to speak, but the girl with the sword spoke first. " It seems that picked the wrong time to drop in." The door to the blue box slammed shut and Alex could hear the lock click from where he was and then Michael spoke, his voice high and strained.

" Captain, arrest them."


	2. Chapter 2

" Tell us who you are." Alex was trying to be bold, commanding, and give the sense that he knew he doing, but Michael wanted to reach over slap him. His high pitched voice straining to make itself seem tough only made him seem even more unsure about what he was doing. In front of him, behind a metal table sat the trio of newcomers.

Michael studied them with a critical eye. The man, with his bow tie and floppy hair, made him appear clownish. But there was a shrewd intelligence in his eyes that made Michael's hand clench, ready for anything that this man could dish out. I

Beside him was the girl whom he referred to as Clara. Her doe eyes shared the same intelligence as her companion, but it was diluted by a overpowering sense of curiosity. She was wearing an old flapper dress, her hair curled in ringlets, framing her face. Michael could see the arousal stirring in Alex at the sight of her; yet there was nothing appealing about her to him. True, he could get her to willingly sleep with him, but he did not see the point in doing so. He could have any woman in Vega if he wanted to. Yet it was the other girl that bothered him.

She was sitting in the shadows of the room, her eyes veiled by the glasses she wore. But even as Alex talked to her, her eyes never left Michael. They bored into him, stripping his flesh away to reveal his soul and Michael shifted trying to relieve the tension that had steadily begun to grow in him as soon as they entered the room.

Her hands, which were fiddling with a piece of string she had plucked from the Doctor's tweed jacket, were large for a woman; but the dexterity they contained fascinated him.

" What is your name?" Michael's voice shattered his concentration as soon as he realized he spoke his thoughts out loud.

" I'm the Doctor. This is Clara," The Doctor patted her hand carelessly and Michael saw her blush. Michael nodded slightly to acknowledge he had heard him. " And the one behind me is Lyra." Michael saw her flinch as she pushed herself further into the shadows. Michael rolled her name in his mouth quickly and quietly, savoring the taste of it. Alex stood and stretched. Michael saw him nod and following Alex, left the room.

" None of them are 8 balls, that much we do know. Could they be higher angels?" Michael shrugged. " It is a possibility." Alex shivered slightly at those words and looked back at the trio through the glass. " I don't think so Michael. Hell, none of them have even heard of the war. I think that we should set the free. Allow them to got back to where ever they are from." Michael shrugged again, too busy thinking to argue the point of keeping them locked up.

" There is something about her..."

" What do you mean by her?" Michael shrugged again as he took a place at the window into the interrogation room.

" Have you ever had that sense that your past has come back to haunt you?" Alex nodded, his mind returning to the memory of watching his father, Jeep die. " There is something about that girl in there," Michael inclined his head to the girl in the shadows. " That seems familiar." Michael turned to face Alex and he saw him flinch. It was going to be a long night, he realized and took a step back.

" Let them go, but do not allow them to leave Vega. I want to figure out if they can help us or not." The smile that graced Alex's face made Michael's stomach churn at what he was about to do. The door slid open softly and Alex told them the good news with the smile still on his face, his eyes locked on Clara. Michael waited.

The first two, the Doctor and Clara, filed out of the room. Michael tensed. He watched as Lyra stood and made her way out the door. Michael leapt; his 200 pounds of muscle pinning her to the floor as he tore off her glasses. Golden eyes stared back into his, a fire glowing within them, and he felt her lift him easily and push him off of herself. Michael knew what she was and as he watched her, he also knew he understood. For there are only three things that can kill a Archangel. The first was old age. The second was a Varian sword. But it was the third that promised a death that made Michael shiver.

The girl was a Bengar.


	3. Chapter 3

Time and space seemed to hold no meaning over the Doctor as he watched the man's wings unfurl. Being nearly 50ft long tip to tip, the Doctor mouth sagged open in surprise. It seemed that his host, the man who arrested them on no grounds besides a miraculous appearance; was an Archangel.

Michael felt his wings release instinctively as his canines dropped from their sheaths in his upper jaw. The roar that bubbled like hot hot oil in his breast died as he saw her gaze at him quizzically. She stood, her gold eyes betraying no emotion other than contempt at the situation. Michael watched her glance up at his wings and then back at him. Walking over to him, her lips pressed into a thin line, she snatched her glasses out of his hands.

" Those are mine." She cleaned them briskly from his fingerprints and double checking, jammed them on.

" Why did you take them in the first place?" Michael blinked. His gut told him not to speak, not to allow her to know anything about himself or the situation; but his heart triumphed.

" I had know." He stated matter of factly as he sheathed his wings and retracted his canines. " You could have just asked instead of jumping me." Michael found himself shrugging in reply.

" I can't explain why I did what I did. But," He stopped. He couldn't find the right words to tell her what he meant, those golden orbs drawing him inward. Michael felt almost light headed staring so long when he realized he had stopped breathing. Suddenly a sharp whir mixed with loud buzzer broke the silence and Michael's head shot up trying to locate the god awful sound.

" I can't believe it. Clara do you see this? These readings. I have never seen such readings like this." The Doctor held out his screwdriver to Clara who gazed at it stupidly, not being able to understand the Gallifreyan writing whirling in it. The Doctor didn't notice though as he snatched it back and bounced over to Michael.

" You guys are supposed to be extinct." He checked the screwdriver again. " This is just amazing. There are so many things I want to ask you..." The Doctor's voice got higher as he nearly yelled the words when a hand came up and whacked him on the back of his head. Clara, stood behind him, her hands on her hips and a look of annoyance plastered on her doll like features.

" Doctor I know this is exciting for you, but what is going on?" The Doctor studied her for a moment and then smiled.

" There are legends that my people tell of great beings with giant wings. They were called Archangels by those who didn't understand what they were and the name stuck. They were the original time travelers. The original history recorders. When we laid waste to their city," The Doctor suddenly swallowed his tounge as he leapt nimbly away from Michael's grasp. Long nails, almost talons, had appeared from the tips of Michael's fingers, alarming the Doctor and everyone else in the room. A low growl resounded, echoed by the sharp click of a gun safety.

" Michael, back off." Alex's voice broke like an icy wave through the white hot haze of Michael's anger. Though Michael wouldn't admit it openly, he had begun to trust the human with certain things, one of them being his uncanny sense of wisdom in times of peril when Michael had the possiblibly to unleash his wrath.

The air was hard to breathe as Michael calmed and sheathed his claws, but not after seeing Lyra do the same.

" A battle of the gods." He thought to himself sullenly allowing himself the chance to breathe. Why was he agitated? He had never felt this amount of rage flow through him before and it unnerved him.

" Michael, are you alright?" Alex's words made his head snap up fix him with a glare that could have turned Alex into a pile of ash if it could.

" You heard my orders Captain." He growled and turning on his heel, walked out of the interrogation room. Behind him, he heard Lyra laughing.


	4. Chapter 4

He knew it was the right thing to do, not trusting Michael; but what he had just witnessed made Alex want to turn against him entirely.  
It started with him jumping the girl with the glasses named Lyra. Alex's hand went to his pistol when he saw her heave Michael up and off of herself. Watching the situation change with Lyra taking her glasses back, Alex could literally feel the tension in the space heighten. It was so strong that the tips of Michael's wings seemed to quiver as if brushed by a wind. Alex let his hand relax partially as Michael sheathed his feathers, but he could still sense his anger.  
" Damn yourself Alex!" He thought as he wrenched away from the idea of comforting Michael as you would an angry cat. Yet it was during those few seconds that his thoughts turned towards himself all hell broke loose.

He tried not to think about it as he escorted the Doctor, Clara, and Lyra to the guest quarters in House Riesen. Alex shivered slightly remembering how quickly Michael changed from the genteel Archangel into a monster found in only the darkest nightmares.  
Now that he thought of it, it wasn't really the pointed tips of his canines peeking over his upper lip as he snarled at Lyra or the fact that Michael's anger had nearly made him get a bullet to the chest. It was the talons.

Long and curved like a hybrid cat's claw; the dark nails shone brightly in the dim light. Claws that could hook and tear flesh apart. Alex swallowed harshly trying to clear the bile rising in his throat. Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder and turning to address his prisoners, was thrown backward in a bright blast of light.

* * *

The solider was lifted off the ground with the force of the stun as I quickly reloaded my pistol. With a sastifying click, I looked up at the Doctor and Clara; both whom had a look of horror mingled with disbelief. I sighed, my eyes naturally rolling to emphasizing my point.  
" He isn't dead. I just stunned him." I slid another round into the chamber of my 460N pistol.  
" You know those are illegal in nearly 330 different galaxies." The Doctor stated sharply.  
" Thank you Capitain Obivous." I glanced at the Doctor's watch, reading the time with a keen eye. " We have about ten minutes before a signal is raised alerting the Archangel that we have escaped. Now I would like to be in the Tardis and gone before then." And with a quick turn of my heel, began trotting down the hall to the left of us.

* * *

She was amazing. A smart ass sometimes; especially to me. But amazing nonetheless.  
She held the gun with a practiced ease, her body taunt; yet fluid and stealthly like her inner creature.  
" Silly question. But where did you hide that?" Clara's voice wobbled between octaves as she trotted next to me. " Shoulder holster" Lyra twisted a bit to show the faint outline of it through her half trench.  
" But they searched us for weapons before we entered the room. You even opened your jacket to show them." She laughed.  
" Doctor, we women," Lyra nodded to Clara. " Have places to hide things that would make you blush." She laughed again as I truly did blush from embarrassment. Suddenly Lyra froze; her eyes narrowed behind her glasses.  
" Keep still both of you. There is someone coming." Her soft voice filled my thoughts and I halted, pushing Clara into the shadows behind me. Lyra's grip shifted slightly as she rose the gun to eye level to aim at a woman with firey red hair coming around the corner.  
I waited for Lyra to pull the trigger and claim another victim, but she hesitated. Lowering her gun, she stepped from the shadows and signaled me to follow. The red head gave us a passing glance as we walked calmly past and I noted her eyes were copper green.  
Not quite like Amy's, but there was similarities. The gun appeared once more in Lyra's hand as we continued on our way.

As we walked the twisted corridors, I saw Lyra rub her free hand against the walls.  
" What are you doing?" I hissed and she quickly shushed me. " Getting rid of our trail." I barely caught the words, she spoke so softly, when a beam of light pierced the gloom. All three of us ran over; the excitement of having an adventure coursing through our veins.  
" Stay down. I'll go first." I pushed past both women and held out my sonic screwdriver. With a high pitched whine and a dull click, we were free. Stepping out if the confines of the tunnels into the neon lit streets of Vega, I was rushed by how similar the two cities, Vegas and Vega, actually were.  
The neon was considerably brighter than that of its sister city; but the dull framework and gaudy appearance of the buildings behind the lights didn't give it the feeling of belonging like Vegas.  
" So what do you think?" Lyra popped out from behind my right arm and I shrugged. " I prefer Vegas."  
" So do I." She agreed when a loud roar of a klaxon made us all freeze.  
" That's us." Lyra stated and with the klaxon voicing our escape to the world, we took off running towards the Tardis.

* * *

" Alex what happened?" Michael knelt down next to the groggy warrior. " I don't know. All I saw was a bright flash of light." Alex tried to stand, but his feet went out from under him and he slid towards the floor. But the Archangel's attention wasn't taken by Alex's suffering. It was drawn to a small cartridge casing by the wall.  
" I thought you took all of their weapons?" Michael snapped, picking up the casing. " I thought we did."  
Michael sighed drawing in the scents that hung in the air. He picked up Alex's musky scent along with the clean scent of Becca. There was the soft scent of Clara; flowery and cool, mixed with the odd scent of the Doctor. But underneath all of that was a scent that made Michael ache with an ache he had not known for many years.  
He moved so swiftly that the unfurling of his wings knocked Alex back against the wall and into unconsciousness and with a mighty thrust of his wings he took off down the hallway.

* * *

" Can we please move faster than this?" Lyra complained as we made our way down a red lit alley.  
" I don't remember where I put the Tardis. Give me a minute." I replied, my thoughts on trying to remember the route we took to the compound. Then she was there as we turned the corner. Old and blue, the Tardis stood as a beacon of freedom in the city of Vega.  
" We're almost there."'Clara sang and both her and I darted forward, eager to be the first through those wooden doors. It seemed like ages until we were close enough to see the shine on the handles when the Archangel appeared.  
Wings loose and flowing, his anger at our escape reverberated through the ground leaving a small crater. No swords this time, I noted, as I hit the ground my body skidding on the rough gravel. Turning 180, my feet slipping trying to get traction, I shot back behind Lyra and Clara wasn't far behind. Lyra though seemed unfazed by the Angel's intrusion. Instead she seemed angered by it.  
" Let us pass." She growled, her once girlish voice dropping in octaves. The Archangel just stared her down daring her to try. No words were shared between the two, but I could sense that something I had never seen before was about to happen.  
" BANG!" The shot rang out loud and clear hitting the pavement in front of Lyra with a small spray of rocks. She looked up quickly, startled by the noise and I saw that the Archangel had stopped moving. Then he was. I blinked, trying to understand what I had just witnessed when Lyra made her move.

1,2,3. Shifting in mid run, the woman who once stood before me, became a monsterous black panther twice the size of the angel.  
" Let us pass." Lyra cat roared, but the Archangel remained where he was, this time claws out and fangs bared. " A battle whispered about at the dawn of time." I thought to myself as I prepared for the worst.  
" Doctor what is going on?" And when I told her, the shock written on her face was evident. " Can't you do something about it?"  
" I can not. These battles are fixed. A battle between space and time. Changing this would be like changing history." I watched avidly as the Mexican stare down continued when Lyra lunged, her body a monsterous black streak, as another shot rang out

* * *

.

She stopped. Lyra stopped; her entire body tense with shock that bled from her eyes and into his. Then he heard the echo of the shot off of the buildings  
. Memories flashed quickly through the telepathic connection he forged earlier when she wasn't paying attention, confirming his suspicions.  
"Myra?" Michael whispered and the metallic gold irises softened into a dull sheen as the massive cat fell wounded and unconscious at his feet.


	5. Chapter 5

Blood. All I could smell was blood. It surrounded me, covered me, choked me. Then it was darkness. Darkness that made the blood freeze in my veins; the type that reminds one of how vulnerable one is.

Suddenly my world flared with light as the crisp boom of an explosion greeted my ears. The tang of blood still filled my mouth; but this was found in the air, not upon me. All around me, men were fighting. Black coats swirled with brutal fury through enemy lines. The clash of armor and the rich ring of swords sharpened my senses and clenching my hands into fists, I discovered that I was holding a sword as well. Short and compact, it reminded me of an old sword wielded by a Roman general. I held it with a comfortable grasp, my body knowing instictivily how to use it to its maximum potential. Yet all of this was familiar. Too familiar for comfort actually. Setting a force field around myself, I looked over the battle with a critical eye trying to find a landmark that could tell me where I was.

I appeared to be in a valley with high sloping walls. Scraggly trees grew from the loose soil casting their weak shadows over the blazing battlefield. At the far end of the narrow cleft was a wall could barely be discerned through the laser blasts, smoke, and dust that was in the air. Suddenly it clicked.

" Incarceron." I whispered as my force field dropped. Yet as soon as it did, the shrieking cry of an enemy brought me to my knees andI thrust the sword upwards. My slim line of silver drove into the creature with a sharp grinding noise, hitting and severing its spine. The half man, half animal creature fell with a sickening thud at my feet as I pulled my sword from its bowels. Sweat had beaded into tiny rivuelets down my cheeks and ran into my eyes half blinding me, when a cool drop of liquid fell into my forehead. As I wiped it away, another shower of drops fell on me, each one of them red in color. Licking away the one that fell on my lips, discovered that it was blood.

" What the..." My question though was ended by a monsterous shadow that blocked out the sun. Hovering nearly 100 feet above me was a creature found in my culture's darkest legends. My battle was against an Archangel.

* * *

Michael panicked. Though he would never show such emotion outwardly, especially in front of Alex; Michael's insides were twisted into knots that no amount of prayer could untangle. He was in his room with Lyra, the Bengar had reverted to her natural form as soon as she collapsed and ordering Alex to take care of the Doctor and Clara, had picked up the bleeding warrior and took off to his room. He had tried in vain to staunch the bleeding, even using the shirt off of his own back to do so. But she still bled and he couldn't control it.

" Take her to the hospital." Alex's voice chimed hideously in Michael's thoughts and he shook his head resolutely.

" She will be the one I save, alone. Even if it means I must sacrifice myself." He whispered to himself. His calm blue eyes hardened as he made the vow and taking up one of his swords placed it next to him on the bed. Lyra's breathing seemed to slow as Michael leaned forward and brushing away the hair the covered her neck, exposed her jugular.

" I am sorry." Michael sighed; his canines dropped from his upper jaw like a snake's, flickering in the candlelight, and he breathed in her scent. So close, Michael's tounge flicked out touching her skin tentatively as hunger grew inside of him. Michael's teeth scraped the vein and he moaned, the thought of what he was about to do fueling his lust. He bit down.

Blood flowed into his mouth, sweet and rich and Michael swallowed. His eyes closed in ecasty as his pleasure peaked violently.

" Michael!" His head shot up, eyes dilated with bloodlust. Alex stood at the window, pale as a corpse. His hand was on his gun, but it hung limply at the sight of Michael.

Blood was painted around Michael's lips, enhancing their fullness and emphasizing the sharp contours of his face. When Alex entered, he could barely see the girl and Michael through the sheer curtain that surrounded the bed, but seeing Michael like this terrified him.

" What do you want?" Michael's eyes seemed to glow an unearthly blue as they stared into his. Alex's tounge felt too thick in his mouth as fear flooded his system.

" What have you done?" Alex whispered; the silence felt too awkward to disturb. Then Michael laughed. It was high and piercing and Alex winced as the sound seemed to cut through him.

" What am I doing? I am saving her life." He caressed Lyra's pale cheek gently and leaned forward again to finish the job when he heard Alex cock his gun.

" Leave her alone Michael or I'll blow your brains out." Michael snorted. " Not much conviction huh? Maybe you should try again." Alex tightened his grip on the gun and aimed it directly at the Archangel's head. Michael looked up again making eye contact

" Are you really going to shoot me?" The question was posed brilliantly, his voice toning the question with just enough sarcasm.

" If you touch her again, I will." Alex nodded towards the gun. " You wouldn't dare."

" I shot her didn't I?" Alex watched as Michael's eyes narrowed. A hiss issued from between his teeth. He rose slowly, his eyes never leaving Alex's. Alex also moved, not towards Michael, but towards the elevator. Suddenly Lyra moaned and Michael's intense concentration was broken. He was at her side in a moment, ready for any change. He leaned over once more to finish his job, the blood calling him, when Michael felt the cold touch of metal against his skin. He chuckled.

" I thought I told you bullets can't kill me?"

" But these can."

Michael felt the metal break the skin above his liver and a searing cold that paralyzed him. Lyra sat next to him, blood still flowing from the wound in her neck. From between her knuckles protruded three large blades made of Tertarium.

" Nightie night angel." She murmured and standing, Michael watched as the wounds healed on her neck. Sheathing her internal blades, she took the elevator and Michael could hear it ding as it got to the lobby.

But as Michael lay there in a spreading pool of blood, his thoughts weren't on the idea if dying. He wondered why she already had a scar where he had bit her.


	6. Chapter 6

" Angels. Angels, angels, angels." Clara sighed. The Doctor was muttering to himself again.

" Doctor." His eyes flicked upwards. " You know you are talking to yourself again." He smiled at her.

" I am sorry Clara. I was just thinking."

" About what?" Clara plopped down on the bed beside him.

"'The Archangel. He seems familiar."

" What do you mean by familiar?" The question hovered in the air conditioned atmosphere between them. The Doctor shrugged. His long brown hair suddenly seemed to lose its vitality as his bright eyes dulled with fear. The Doctor sighed.

" I look into his eyes Clara, and there is something there that makes me want to continue looking as if my very life depended on it. There is only one other time that I have ever had that feeling and right now, I really don't want to have to deal with that issue on top of this."

Clara's eyes never left the Doctor as he whispered the truth about his thoughts to her. He had definitely never been this open to her about anything, let alone this. She stared at him with a slight bit of shock coloring her lady doll face with a pink blush; but other than that, Clara's silence was all that occupied the space after his comment.

" What time?" The Doctor suddenly smiled, forcing the dark cloud that hung over him away and patting Clara's leg gently, stood up and made his way towards the window.

" Clara?" He beckoned her over. " What do you see outside this window?" Clara followed his line of sight towards the far horizon, where the tips of the dark mountains were being tinged with the faintest shade of light blue. Looking down, her eyes traced the lines of the neon that still lit Vega. All the red, greens, and blues reminded her of a gaudy carnival attraction that too many people have lost their lunch on.

" Vega." She replied simply, only to hear the Doctor sigh. .

" There is a race of creatures out there, among the stars. They have many names; The Lonely Assassins, Death's Knights, etc. But most races know them as the Weeping Angels."

The snort came out unbidden from Clara. Clapping her hands over her mouth, she slowly glanced up at the man beside her. He just stood there; back ramrod straight, lips tightened into a thin white line, his icy eyes locked to the window.

" I should have never told you." Clara thought she could literally feel the iciness of his tone cut through her soul. She found it very unpleasant.

" Doctor, I'm sorry." She reached out, her hand mere inches from his. Suddenly the Doctor twisted and snatched her arm in a grip of iron.

" I thought I could tell you anything Clara." His voice was low, but Clara stood there, paralyzed with fear. There was something predatory in his eyes; something that could easily snap her in two. He pulled her close.

" I thought I could trust you." He whispered sensually in her ear and Clara's heart tripled in beats. " You can Doctor." Clara's eyes went to the bed at the same time her mind went to the pain in her arm.

" LIAR!" He snapped. The Doctor shoved her roughly against the window, pinning her with his own body. Clara could feel his tense muscles through his shirt and a small dose of adrenaline coursed through her. Subconsciously, Clara was afraid of what was happening, but she didn't care. She had never been this close to him and she wanted to keep this bond forever. Maybe make it even better.

" Doctor, You can trust me." Her free hand reached over and started to caress his remaining hand in return.

" I never could." Pulling his hand away from hers, The Doctor proceeded to wrap it around her throat. Clara panicked.

" Doctor let me go." Her voice was merely a whisper as his fingers tightened her trachea. Black spots were forming in her vision, blending together to form a whirlpool of darkness.

" Doctor, you're killing her." Clara felt the world spin out from underneath her as her breathing returned to normal and with a sigh, she collapsed into darkness.

"Michael." Becca's voice stung. Why it did was curious to him, but it did. Michael lay on his bed, a trail of blood running across the sheets from where he dragged himself. " Becca." He coughed painfully.

" Oh my God Michael. What happened? " Then she was there, on the bed, kneeling in his blood. " I'm fine."

" No your not." Becca clutched at his wounds, vainly trying to close them. " Becca!" He snapped. " I am fine." Michael said it slowly, as if to a child and then told her what to get for him. And then she was gone. Only if she knew that what she went to get, was nothing more than drink to ease the pain.

" Michael."

" Becca I need that drink. Not having you hovering over me."

" What you need is this." Skin was suddenly pressed against his mouth and instinctively he bit down. Blood cascaded through his system, burning his heart and healing his wounds.

" _Michael, I am sorry. I didn't know, I didn't understand..."_

_" Lyra, look at me. You did nothing wrong..."_

Then he was holding her, his strong body holding her weak one. She saved him, the one who only a few minutes ago nearly killed him.

_" If this is love, then Becca has no clue." _Michael whispered thoughtfully to himself and wondered when Becca would get back.


	7. Chapter 7

Could it really have only been a few minutes since he saw, no, caught Michael drinking the blood of an enemy? Alex watched the clock without any inclination of moving in his mind, not even when the Senator ran by, her fiery red hair in matted tangles. His world had stopped, everything he knew, everything he managed to get out of Michael never covered this and now he stood outside the Archangel's door with the gun still in his hand.

" How could I have been so stupid?" Alex smacked himself in the head with the gun leaving a small cut where the safety caught. " Michael why did you have to do this to me? Couldn't you have just told me or at least warned me?"

" Alex, I know your out there." The Angel's voice slithered underneath the door and Alex started in surprise. " Please come in. We need to talk."

" Oh, now we need to talk." Alex muttered, but entered anyway.

Michael sat there in his meditating pose, a ugly pink weal tearing through his lower abdomen. Beside him lay the young woman, Lyra, asleep; her breathing a deep, restful sort that many in this time long for.

" Do not worry about her, Alex. She will be fine. But I have made up my mind to tell you what no one on this planet knows." Alex 's breath caught in his throat. " This planet? What do you mean?"

"Sit down Alex." The command was short and to the point,which Alex obeyed completely. Michael sighed and stood, his lean body unfolding to its height of 6'3, to stand looking out over Vega with a look that a young child would give with caught doing something wrong.

" Do you remember what the Doctor spoke of in the interrogation room?"

" The race of creatures that were called Angels that they slaughtered? Why?" Alex saw Michael's jaw clench in pain as his left hand gently touched his right arm. But as fast as it happened, the mighty Archangel became stoic and clasp his hands behind his back.

" I am, was, the last of my kind." Simple, elegant, and said as a fact, the sentence was nothing more than a moment in time that would be only remembered in dreams. But Alex heard all of Michael's rage, all of his fears, and all of sadness echo in those few words.

" So there are no angels? I mean like angels from heaven?" Alex clarified hastily. Michael chuckled slightly at the irony. " I have no doubt that there is and that one day as it says in Revelation, angels will sound the horns to herald the coming of the King. But against what your kind thinks, Father, has not vanished. In Gabriel's and Uriel's mind maybe..." Michael's words trailed off, his thoughts floating out among the breeze.

" But not you." Michael inclined his head slightly. " I never really knew the Father my sister and brother knew. I was too young. When the attack happened, I watched as the man whose blood was as mine, die,and in thus I received the marks you wear now."

" But why did you need them transferred to me?" Michael sighed. " In all truth, I cannot read them."

" But what about Gabriel and Uriel? I am sure that they could read them."

" Gabriel thinks it is all just a hoax to trick the mind and Uriel has forgotten how." Alex stood and began pacing. " So you turn to me because..."

" Your father was the my father's oracle." Alex paused in his pacing, his mind gathering up all the information and then sending him reeling. He stared at Michael, his eyebrows contracting in puzzlement, then horror.

" Your telling me I am half angel?" Michael's head tilted as if he was trying to understand Alex's reaction. " Why? How? Its not possible..."

" It is quite possible Alex. Your father was a higher angel that came here to escape the Time War. Who knew that my brother would follow suit."

" By why here?"

" It is viable planet is it not?" Alex shrugged and began pacing again. " I guess so."

" Gabriel saw this and decided to recreate our home world,"

" By slaughtering all of the humans that lived here first." Alex finished for him and then turned towards Michael again.

" The why aren't you helping then?" Michael felt as if he had been hit in the gut. He knew that this was a test and one wrong move would send the Chosen One fleeing to New Delphi.

" This world by siblings talk about, with the cities in the sky and lands that have never seen the touch of man, I do not know. So why should I condone the right of both of them recreating it when the head of the family does not remember it?"

Michael watched with amazement at Alex's reaction. Telling a human of his role in the Angel hierarchy was blasphemous, but he needed to understand. Understand why Michael needed him to read the marks that he himself bore for nearly four thousand years.

" So when you said oracle..?"

" Yes, my father could read them. But he could not understand them. The Oracle's position is to read the marks and translate their meaning."

" So as the head of the family, I am your Oracle?" Michael inclined his head once again with a look of anguish written in his eyes. This was all too soon for Alex, Michael thought to himself. Understanding the notion that everything this planet's race believed in was still out there and that Gabriel lied to break their spirits was too much for a human mind to handle.

" _Yet, this knowledge, in the hands of the Chosen One, could reunite our forces. Drive my brother back to the pit whence he came." _The thought was fleeting but poisonous and swallowing the bile that suddenly choked him, Michael sat down again on the bed.

" Michael, what you just told me could destroy Gabriel's army..."

" Alex." Michael's voice cut off Alex's rant before it was started. " It could destroy you." Michael stood again and began to walk around Alex like the first time they truly met.

" As my Oracle, my job is to keep you alive at all costs. That is why I am training you to fight Gabriel. Because if I lose you, I lose everything we have worked for on this planet and that must not happen. Do you understand? You are my key to winning this war." Michael stopped pacing and placed his hand on Alex's shoulder.

" I tell you this, not to scare you, but to give you hope. You are under my protection and you must understand that my sacrifices for you are because I need you by my side."

Alex smiled. A smile that the Archangel took as a good sign. " But what are we going to do about the Doctor?" Michael thought for a moment. " Alex, I have no idea..."


	8. Chapter 8

The dimly lit room smelled of sex and stale incense. Fine fabrics of every hue draped over all available surface. And sitting on a hastily made throne was the would- be king. Gabriel mind was lost in thought, his fingers moving idly over the contours in the stone.

" You need more protection brother. Anyone can waltz in here."

" Uriel. I didn't expect you." Gabriel stood slowly, clumsily. His wings hurt today and no amount of pain killer or rubbing was taking the edge off. Uriel on the other hand, sat upon a small shelf near the entrance of the hall. Her stiletto heels clicked together in a rhythmic pattern as her legs gently swung like a pendulum in a non existent breeze.

" I have news to tell you little brother." Hopping off the bench, Uriel strode over to him and the offered drink. For a few moments neither spoke as they savored the rich musky taste of the wine.

" So what is it you have to tell me Uriel?" Gabriel sat down again on his throne. " Our brother has a new friend in Vega."

" And how do you know that?"

"Don't you remember little brother?" Uriel laughed gaily. " I am a seer. The one person who can get past Michael's defenses without the slightest suspicion on his part. It easy though. A bit too easy actually." Uriel paused for a moment contemplating. Gabriel watched her with a dull envy.

He was late. It wasn't his fault; it was his body, but he still hated it. Every day he mated with one of the Taken at least once, just to relieve the tension that had started building in his loins, yet it still wasn't enough. How his twin, Michael wasn't feeling the effects, Gabriel could not fathom.

All he knew was that he was in pain and that right now Uriel, his own flesh and blood looked very attractive in her short military skirt and bosom hugging top.

" Who are they?" Uriel's voice shattered his extremely vivid day dream. Gabriel winced at the sudden rush of adrenaline running through him. Suddenly Uriel was beside him, her small hands just touching his broad shoulders. "'Are you alright?"

" I am fine sister." He shoved her off of him.

"You are Rising aren't you?" Gabriel stopped._ " So that's what it is called._" He thought softly to himself.

" I guess so." He shrugged. " All I know is that pain has become a permanent resident." Uriel shrugged, forgiving her brother and understanding his frustration.

" The Rising is a difficult time. But the pain will fade." She stated firmly. " Just remember who you keep around you though, Gabriel."

He looked up at her. The only time she ever used his name was when she was telling him something strenuously important. Her eyes had become fine points of slate etching their mark into his skin. Gabriel shivered slightly under the unwavering gaze.

" Gabriel. During this time you will have to honor a tradition our kind have gone through for centuries."

" The Bond." He whispered and Uriel nodded slowly, emphasizing the point. " Do not allow the Bond to choose whom you are with. Choose your bond mate carefully, for this person will give you strength, but they will also give you weakness. By choosing, you are have a better chance to gain a strength to defeat Michael."

Gabriel whirled on Uriel, his hand wrapped around her delicate throat. " Michael is mine to kill,Uriel. Not some human bitch's,"

" I never said it was. Michael is weak with the Chosen One around. He doesn't want to lose the boy's loyalty..." Gabriel's fingers closes a fraction, but Uriel understood.

" The boy must be Michael's bond mate." Gabriel bared his teeth in anger as a dog would. Letting go of his older sister, Gabriel made his way back to his throne.

" We don't know if Michael has completed the ceremony. Uriel I need you to infiltrate Michael's eyrie. Confront the boy and discover the truth. If Michael has bonded with him, then killing the boy,"

" Would destroy Michael. Uriel finished

" As you wish little brother. But remember."

Gabriel only nodded in reply.


	9. Chapter 9

Lyra dreamed. Her thoughts drifted from memories to fantasy, her emotions ranging from fear, to love, to anger. Too much, she wanted to scream. Too much. Yet, no matter how hard she tried, she could not awaken.

" I have requested the attendance of the Doctor." Michael spoke slowly, his mouth barely saying the words. Alex heard them in his head mostly. " So if I'm your Oracle, I should be able to tell you if he will come?"

Alex felt different now, knowing he was half angel, yet the part of him that was like Michael did not present itself. There were no wings, no super strength, nothing that would give him away as the enemy. In truth, Alex felt disappointed.

Ever since he was a child, dreaming of being an angel, gliding through the clouds on ebony wings, thrilled him more than the tales of horror of the first days of the War. Now that he knew why, Alex questioned his sanity.

" Do not worry about what you are not. I am actually thankful for it. " Michael spoke suddenly, the emotion that was never present in his speech, asserting itself. Alex stared at the Archangel. He was cool and calculating, not a messed up heap of dull humanity. Yet, as Michael gazed down at the city, Alex could see small tears, tiny gems that caught the light of the dawn, glisten for a moment before being absorbed into the angel's skin.

"If you are so proud of me not being what you are; Why do you train me as if I am one?"

" You need to be prepared." The cold exterior of Michael froze over once more, revealing none of his true intentions.

" Prepared for your ascent to the throne? Have you even told the Council who you are?" Alex snapped. " I have to protect you Alex."

" From what? Other angels? Is this because you can't just say that you are the king and have all bow down to you. Why did you have to protect me?"

" Because of the tattoos Alex." Michael didn't flinch, didn't turn to face him, but Alex could sense him watching.

" What is so important about these tattoos?"

" The Skasis Paradigm!"

Lyra shot out of the bed so fast, that Michael's cool mask of unemotional gazing broke and he had his weapons in hand and a snarl on his face. Yet Lyra was faster and bolting out the room in bare feet, began her marathon to House Risen and the Doctor.

"Doctor! Doctor! I have figured out why they need Alex." She rushed headlong into the quarters, not giving a damn about what was going on.

" I figured out why this war is raging." The Doctor stared at her.

He was sitting on the bed, his legs crossed, tinkering with the digital alarm clock. His blue- green eyes glanced up at the woman that busted through a locked door. The remains of the door swung crazily on the hinges, emphasizing the intense emotions Lyra was experiencing. Her eyes locked with the Doctor's and she half walked, half trotted over to where he was.

" Doctor. You know of the Skasis Paradigm right? Anyway, what if the God Maker was cracked? What if all that power became a living thing, a parasite feeding of of the very essence inside of those who wield it?"

" Why did you go off on this tangent?"

" Because Doctor," Lyra stopped. "Where's Clara?" The Doctor shrugged and went back to rewiring the clock.

" Anyway. What if their was a single blood line, a genetic marker that prevented the Paradigm from eating them, giving them the power to wield it, without the added side effects."

" And?"

" Explains why Angels can travel through time."

The Doctor's hearts stopped for a moment as he digested the theory. " Even if it was cracked, how would they hide information? Where is a better question."

" In plain sight." Lyra replied factually and upon those words, the Doctor saw both the solider and the Archangel standing in the doorway.

" We need to get him out of here." The Doctor moved and in the process awoke Clara who was lying on the ground beside the bed. " Whuuut, what is going on?"

" We are leaving." And with a yank, all five, the Doctor in the lead took off out of House Riesen.

" Michael where are we going?" Lyra called out over the general roar of the shoppers. " House Thorn. That is where we moved the Tardis after you tried to escape before."

" How did you know it was a Tardis?" The Doctor stopped and faced the stoic Archangel. " How do you know?"

" We have to get Alex to safety. We don't have for this."

"We'll make time." The Doctor's normally exuberant voice dropped into a growl. Suddenly Lyra was there, her hand pulling the Doctor away from a potentially fatal engagement.

" Doctor, we need to get Alex to safety. We can figure out the details later." For a moment, all four thought that the Doctor was going to attack the Archangel, yet with a twist of his lips, he turned and took off to House Thorn.

" Michael. How did you know it was a Tardis?" Lyra asked after the Doctor was out of earshot. Michael smiled.

" What planet do you think I grew up on Lyra?" He replied swiftly and with another small smile, he took off following the Doctor.

" We're here." Michael spoke softly, to prevent the guards from hearing him. The Tardis stood on a platform in a small laboratory; its pale blue light illuminating the room.

" It reminds me of a night light." Lyra stated gaily. The Doctor glared at her and Lyra shrugged. " Just stating the obvious." The Doctor sighed and pulling out the key, opened the door slowly.

As a dog greets its master, the Tardis whirred to life, its lights flashing on and off at the intrusion.

" What have they done to you my darling?" The Doctor ran his hands over the smooth surface of the console, surreptitiously flipping switches and pushing buttons while the solider marveled at the interior size advantage.

" It's bigger on the inside." Alex spoke the famous words with such awe that even Michael looked over at him.

" How is this even possible?"

" Wibbly wobbly timey wimey." The Doctor spoke swiftly, his mind on certain places to hide. Alex looked over at Michael whose eyes slid over to Lyra.

" That is his way of saying it is far to complicated for your mind to understand and doesn't want to waste time trying to."

" Does that mean Michael too?" Michael glared at Alex and strode over to the console. Placing his hand upon it, both Lyra and Alex watched in fascination as golden threads of light wound themselves around Michael's fingers. Then as quickly as it happened, Michael removed his hand and the tendrils vanished as if they never were. Lyra's gaze met Michael's, his blue irises lit from within by a power harnessed by few.

"Now do you understand?" Lyra nodded once, slowly. "I understand."

" Good."

" Now then, ladies and gentlemen," The Doctor's voice shattered the tension building in the console room. " I know of a place that can hide us from your brother. But I must tell you now, the place is time locked. Once we enter, we cannot leave."

" How is that called hiding?" Both Alex and Michael asked simultaneously. " It will hide who we truly are from the rest of the universe. No matter what happens though, we must stick together. Here." The Doctor handed all four of them a small pill.

" I want you to take that while we are in the time vortex. If you take it while we are out of it, Gabriel will find us."

" But why shouldn't he?" Michael, the Doctor, Alex, and Lyra stared at Clara with differing looks of puzzlement or suspicion. " Just take the pill." Alex replied swiftly to the question before swallowing his own. Michael followed suit and soon after both the Doctor and Clara took theirs.

" Lyra. What are you doing?" She held the pill in her hand. If I take this Doctor, I will forget what I am and if I forget what I am..."

" You are not the only one forgetting Lyra. " Michael's powerful voice echoed through her. " If I lose myself, I can hurt a lot of people."

" But you already took the pill."

" That is the point." He replied and took Lyra's hand. _" No matter what happens, I will be right beside you."_

Lyra sighed and pooling saliva in her mouth, tossed the pill back and swallowed it. Suddenly a dull thump and loud wheezing broke the silence.

" You have amazing timing Lyra." The Doctor spoke swiftly. " Now I am truly sorry, truly, truly sorry. But we must protect the universe from Gabriel. The minute we step outside those doors, the only thing you will remember are your names, so I have given you a short believable story of who you are and whom you are with on each of these papers. Read them carefully for they will be your livelihood now and as I said before I am truly sorry."

And upon those words, The Doctor flung open the doors to the Tardis letting in the afternoon light.

" Wait Doctor. Before we step out those doors, can you tell us where we are?" Michael asked quietly before stepping out.

"Oh yes, I forgot. Silly me. We are in a town called Storybrooke."


End file.
